Old Testament Characters, Week 2
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Intro: Last week we began a new series on Old Testament Characters, and we are looking at the different ways that God has used these different characters to reveal his one plan for redemption. Last week, we briefly covered the lives of Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel and Seth. Through these characters, we saw how sin entered the world and how...
The Curse of Sin...
We are separated from God
We are marred by sinful brokenness and fear
We stand under the judgment of God
Even though this is the spiritual condition we are all born into, God did not leave us without hope. God knows that we need a Savior.
In fact, through the 3rd son of Adam and Eve, Seth, God taught us to “Call upon the name of the Lord” and to wait for this Savior.
Today, we look at the son of Cain, Lamech. Neither Cain nor Lamech “called upon the name of the Lord” for salvation and deliverance.
Genesis 4:17-24
17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. 22 Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
23 Lamech said to his wives:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for striking me.
24 If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold,
then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”
Pray. Lord Jesus, your are our Shepherd. Cause us to hear your voice and lead us to green pastures of understanding, for Your namesake. Amen.
We just had a potluck consisting of some very, tasty, international food. I love these kinds of events. My father is from another country, he is from Jamaica. I am so proud of Jamaica. Though I have never lived there, though it is far from being perfect, I love representing the country of Jamaica. I can’t help it, because it’s apart of me.
Raise your hand if you are from another country? Are you proud of your country?
It’s okay if your country isn’t perfect, America isn’t perfect either.
There’s something in us that wants to take pride in where we’re from. In America, it’s interesting. We Americans take pride in...
the region we grew up in. And when they meet people from the same region,
pride in the state...
pride in the city...
pride in the neighborhood we grew up in
There’s something built into human nature that leads us to take pride in where we come from…it’s tied to an identity and a desire for significance.
This same dynamic is happening with each Character in the Old Testament. Identity and significance being linked to where we come from. So today, we are going to talk about representing your city. Your spiritual city.
Representing Your City
Representing Your City
The Bible passage I read to you told the story of Cain’s family legacy. Cain was the 1st born son of Adam & Eve. He did not love God and he killed his brother, Abel. The city that Cain built also represents a spiritual kingdom.
After killing Abel, God’s punishment for Cain was to banish him from the presence of God, remove any sense of inner peace from his heart and made his work incredibly difficult.
And how did Cain respond to all of this? Did he call upon the Lord to restore him? No.
Cain sought an identity and significance not from God, but through his own efforts.
God told him he would be a wanderer and his laborer would be even more difficult, so what does Cain do? He goes and builds a city. Again, this city represents a spiritual kingdom.
In the ancient world, a city was often the representation of an entire Kingdom.
Ancient Cities Represented Kingdoms
Cities are where Kings exercised their rule.
Cities were often fortified with high walls to protect against invading troops.
Cities were the central places for worship.
Cities is where industry and innovation thrived.
Cities expressed the depths of the nations culture.
All these things are present with Cain’s building of a city. He named it after his son, Enoch. Is Cain looking to Enoch as the savior? Cain’s grandchildren created culture. And one of his great grandchildren, Lamech, walks in his ways of violence.
Genesis 4:23-24
23 Lamech said to his wives:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for striking me.
24 If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold,
then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”
I like to say, Lamech was the first gangster rapper in history. He marries two wives, he kills a man, and in a poetic tone, he raps about it.
The signs of this city that Cain has built, do not point to the Kingdom of God.
Cain’s city represents the kingdom of man, which is the same as the kingdom of Satan.
Instead of calling upon the name of the Lord, and looking to God for deliverance, Cain looked to himself, his family and his city.
And if we, in our search for identity and significance, look to anything other than God, we will represent the same city of man.
God’s children are to represent His city, by looking to Him.
Hebrews 11:8-10
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
Abraham, like Cain, looked like a wanderer, with no city to represent, but he looked to the Lord, the architect of the City of God.
Hebrews 12:22 says
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
And Galatians 4:26
26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
Matthew 5:14
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
We represent the city of God by our loving obedience to Jesus Christ, and through our loving service towards one another.
Cain disobeyed God and murdered his brother. His great-grandson, Lamech, murdered a man and boasted about it. This is the opposite of the City of God.
Jesus, speaking on this issue says in Matthew 5:21-24
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
The City of God that we are to represent, the one that Jesus speaks of, teaches us that it is wrong to murder. It is wrong to hate your neighbor. It is wrong to disparage the image of God in others.
Neither Cain nor Lamech understood this, because they were not seeking the city of God and King Jesus.
What about you, which spiritual city are you representing? Are you representing the spiritual city of man? Or the City of God?
Just know that you are always representing a “spiritual city.” Always repping a “spiritual city.”
Let us pray.